For Your Holiday Ham, Go Country This Year
Pepper, Sugar, or Salt Cured Country Ham is a Real Holiday Treat
Sep 25, 2009
Cooking a cured ham is well worth the effort, especially when feeding a crowd. It's a real bargain for the money. Uncooked country ham has the texture of fine prosciutto. Once cooked, it should be sliced very thinly for maximum flavor. And what a flavor - ham just doesn't get any better. You may like it so much, you might consider curing your own ham. Sugar and pepper cured hams still use salt, just not as much as a regular salt cured ham.
How to Prepare a Country Ham for Baking
- Start 2-3 days before you want to serve the ham. This allows time to soak, slow bake, and refrigerate the ham. Ham needs to be thoroughly cold before slicing.
- Do not be put off by the presence of mold on a country ham. Mold can be scrubbed off with a brush, warm water and vinegar.
- To remove excess salt, soak the ham in enough water to completely cover it, either in a sink or a large tub for 1-2 days. Change the water 2-3 times as it soaks. The longer it soaks, the more salt will be removed.
How to Bake a Country Ham
Place the ham, skin side up, in a large roasting pan in a 250 degree oven. Pour as much boiling water into the pan as will fit. Put the top on the roaster or cover very tightly with aluminum foil. Bake for 6-8 hours for a whole ham or 4-6 hours for a half ham. The meat will pull away from the hock as it cooks.
CAUTION: Disposable aluminum roasting pans are not strong enough to hold the ham and water, even when placed on a baking sheet.
Remove the ham from the oven and let cool enough to lift it from the pan onto a baking sheet. Cool some more until it's still warm, but comfortable to handle. Cut away the skin and the excess fat under the skin, leaving just enough fat for glazing.
Some cooks cut a diamond pattern into the remaining fat layer (without cutting into the meat) and place a clove in the center of each diamond. This adds a nice decorative touch and extra flavor to the ham. To glaze the ham, make a very thick paste of brown sugar with a little mustard. Apply it to the fat layer and bake at 250 degrees until crusty, being careful not to burn it. Brown sugar liquifies when heated and will run off, so use very little mustard.
Slicing Country Ham
Country ham has a distinctive close grained texture that distinguishes it from other hams. A thin bladed serrated knife is a good choice for slicing country ham. Always slice it against the grain of the meat into the thinnest slices possible. Thick slices of country ham tend to be chewy and not as flavorful as thin slices.
Country Ham - It's Not Just Filling For Sandwiches or Biscuits
Some more ways to use country ham.
- In salads
- In scrambled eggs (sprinkle onto eggs in the pan, don't stir ham into the eggs before cooking)
- Replacement for Canadian bacon in Eggs Benedict
- Add to skewers with melon or other fruit for kabobs
- Add ham crumbs directly into biscuit dough
- Mix finely chopped bits with mayonnaise, chopped peanuts, and a dash of hot sauce to make ham salad
Cooked country ham will last for weeks in the refrigerator on the bone. Keep it tightly wrapped to avoid drying out. Sliced ham will keep in the refrigerator 1-2 days without drying out if it is tightly wrapped. Real country ham is the sophisticate of the ham family. It will make your holidays delicious while feeding a lot of people.
You may also be interested in Master the Art of Sandwich Making to use any leftovers.
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